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hello blogosphere, yarniverse & the world wide wool-eb
I don’t think anyone is reading this so I can be as silly as I please!
A big week in ForeverKnit knitting….where to begin? Books!
I received my Victorian Lace Today in the mail on Tuesday. Lordy lordy lordy. I am in love. Now, not wanting to abandon the sock realm so soon…I think Dharmafey would ban me from listening to her podcast, have you heard her Socks and the City? Very fun, great considering she is all alone, and that girl does some wicked sock yarns (can’t buy any though because I am feeling tres pariochal at the mo’ but more about that later). Anyway, her latest episode pronounced DOWN WITH SHAWLS!! But I am just saying, I have got a lot of knitty love to give, I am willing to share…call me polyknitterous or something. I can love both socks and shawls, I can!
VLT is a beautiful book, matching history with patterns and wonderful photography of the shawls and scarves on modern models at historic sites. I can’t wait to cast on.
I am little behind the knitting web crazes, so I have also just cast on my first pair of Jaywalkers. I love them too (see I have a lot of love to give). They are knitting up so quick and so fun. I am doing them in a lovely blue-ish Colinette Jitterbug, just about to knit the heel flap. I have taken note of the other comments around the web that the heels are a little tight and will knit the large size just in case.
I have also been trying to buy local to satisfy my two lovers – shawls and socks. The web is full of lovely yarns coming out of the US and Europe. Yet w, Australia, produce 70% of the world’s merino! It is nutty to send my money overseas when surely we should have the best wool here. So I have been trying to buy local indie dyers, but I have a thing for bright colours and have spent hour upon hour scouring the internet for the right colours. So my Aussie indie yarn p0rn came from the Knittery and the Knitting Ninja. A couple of sock yarns, one for me, one for my sis and a laceweight to try my hand at VLT!! Woo wee
Another lovely knitting related thing that came through my post box this week was the Winter edition of Yarn magazine – the Australian mag for knitting and more. It’s a great mag – book review, LYS ads, a comparison of interchangeable needle sets, interview with Ditte Larsen, how to fit your knits. And the patterns – five scarf patterns, a willow pattern cap – reminiscent of crockery, driving gloves, capelet, swirly girl socks (yum!! yes- done in Tofutsies…hmm like in my stash!), big long legwarmers, couple of vests, blokey jumper, cable cardie like you see in the shops, skirt and earflap cap. Great illustrations in the stitch guide. Fab
Finished the shell socks too, and a bastardised version of Hot Head from Stitch n Bitch for my 1 year old niece.
Phew. A big week in knitting…bye
Since my last post, I have sewn together my pink mohair blend jumper and it came together quite well…if I do say so myself…ok the sleeves set a little pooffy (full and round, not gay). I am wearing it now and it is toasty warm. It is my first finished jumper and is a great comfy lounging round the house in hot pink jumper.
On other things – I have about 5cm of the instep to go on the 2nd shell sock and just bound-off the first front piece of Clementine’s cardi…must be just about time to cast on again! But waiting for Victorian Lace to arrive in the post and have also found a perfect “dad sock” pattern to knit up the perfectly natural dad yarn I bought from Jarob Farm (site under construction apparently) at the Mini Wool expo.
Yarn review:
I have recently finished a vest in Cleakheatons Vintage Hues in the purple and green colourway. The yarn is 100% wool, and the plying creates an interesting and even colourway, blue-ey green to pale green, purple to a deep marooney-brown. Knitted in garter, it striped prettily, and in stockingette, it reminded me of radio/soundwaves, as the colours played together. Very 70s and was begging to be a vest! The yarn itself was slubby in spots as the colours plyed. I enjoyed knitting with it but there was only 83m to the ball. But aside from that… fun colours, soft and warm. Also for sale in Big W for the tight arses amongst us.
It’s knitting time…bye
Now listening to: Johnny Cash, eating: sweet potato & pumpkin soup
I know the internet has been a-buzz with the question on everyone’s lips…what did Foreverknit buy from Book Depository? I bought the Vogue reference book, Victorian Lace Today and EZ’s Knitters Almanac. Book Depository rocks btw, free posting anyway!! And from UK to Australia that is fecking fantastic, cos that Royal Mail ain’t cheap! Can’t wait to get my hands on them!!
I bought a bunch of crimson mohair lace weight at the Mini-Wool expo a few weeks ago and am looking to make a large shawl to use as a cosy throw. Hopefully VLT will have some suggestions. Also bought a lovely basket with a lid to house my WIPs…often my lounge room is a sea of needles, knitting & yarn…which is cool but sometimes the inner anal person in me likes some tidy!
My clover bamboo dpns have warped. Through all my issues with p3tog in the shell socks pattern, a bit of brute force has warped them in the centre. Odd. Maybe I am stronger than I thought!
The weekend’s task is to sew together the pieces of a pink jumper in Cleakheaton Studio Mohair I have been knitting since last year. The pieces have blocked nicely and now I have to sit down and seam it up.
So today is a day perfect for knitting…if only my fave podcasts had uploaded today…a perfect night for snuggling up with L&V or Brenda. I doubt the temperature hit over 10 degrees and the Melbourne cityscape has been shrouded by fog for most of the day. Watching the fog roll in from the bay at around 4pm today was truly beautiful. Anyway good night for some knitting and a couple of episodes of Angel.
I am starting a new job on Monday and so this week is saying goodbye to the old team. Goodbyes of course involve loads of red wine. So today, I feel a little bit like these guys. Went to a fabulously re-vamped hotel called the Carlton Hotel, all red and black flocked wallpaper, taxidermied animals and neon chandeliers. Good food, good wine, good times.
Not a lot of knitting being done…but I did realise that my reference book, my stitch saviour over the last few months, is due back to the library and I have run out of my allowed renewals. So it is time I kicked my inner tightarse and bought my own copy of Vogue Knitting: the ultimate knitting book. But while I am there on bookdepository.com, what else should I buy? I am tempted to get Victorian Lace Today…it has had such great write-ups and I want to start some lace-knitting…or some Elizabeth Zimmerman. Meh, maybe I will buy all three!
Now, onto the new Knitty…nothing in there really grabs me. I can’t get my head around cotton summer knits and none of the sock patterns call to me. Oh well.
I have been obsessed by this concept since I first heard of it. It goes to the way I knit. I have never been a perfectionist, I have alway tried hard but never had to be that perfect person. With my knitting now, I sometimes look at my errors in the stitching and wonder “should I rip back?” Or can I live with the mistake, the little imperfections. In most of my life, I have gone out in laddered stockings, held important meetings with chipped nails and assumed that the rest of the world has better things to do rather than focus on my imperfections. My eyeliner is quite often a little bit skewiff and my knitting is never, never perfect.
If I wanted something perfect I would buy it in a shop.
But when I make stuff, I want it to reflect me, with all my glorious imperfections and see the beauty in the dropped stitch, the stuffed-up increase, the little hole, the weaved-in end that refuses to stay weaved in. I am the Queen of wabi-sabi and I am proud.
- what’s on my needles
Until I sort out my photo situation, I will have to describe it to you…Dr Beast’s late birthday present are the shell socks in Cherry Tree Hill’s – Jungle. I am up to turning the heel on sock2 and the second one is coming along super quick.
I am also knitting Clementines cardi in a cute red with orange flecks that I got from the Victorian Handknitters Guild Mini-Wool expo last weekend. It seems very simple and is coming along nicely
- world wide wooliverse
Wow, when you are bored with cabling, entrelac and fairisle…how about you knit your own dalek. Well that appeals to the Dr Who geek in me.
In case you were confused…this is not me…btw
This is my new blog about my adventures in the world of knitting.
I have been knitting since Easter 2006. I took a trip to a lovely wedding in the South Island of New Zealand and was looking at the scarfs in the shops. I wanted to buy a scarf (despite being put off by the concept of possum wool) but all the scarfs I saw were NQR*.
I got home to Melbourne and purchased a copy of Stitch n Bitch and was clichedly hooked. Since then I have knitted numerous scarfs, a few hats, a jumper, a vest, a shawl, a pair of socks, developed a healthy number of UFOs and a stash of sock yarn, as well as a list of intended projects. I am also plugged into the podcast scene.
I intend this as a venting spot for me to carry-on about my knitting, cos my non-knitting friends just nod politely when I talk about my new interchangeable needle sets or I will be late down the pub cos the LYS has a sale on.
*not quite right – also the name of a dodgy supermarket chain in Melbourne.
tales of knitwittage 